Issue Date: June 22, 2003
Will the 2003-04 season really be the last for NBC's Tuesday comedy "Frasier"? If so, why?
Cherlee Simpson Kingsport, Tenn.
"It's the end of the contract, and I don't know if anybody wants it around anymore," star Kelsey Grammer tells us honestly. And although it will be a big adjustment for the actor, 48, who next year will have played the fussy psychiatrist (starting on "Cheers") for 20 years, there will be life after. His production company has many irons in the fire, including an animated show, "Gary the Rat", debuting at 10:30 p.m. ET Thursday on Spike TV. Grammer voices a "rat" of a lawyer who changes into an actual rodent. "It's twisted, irreverent. People may be surprised at the things that come out of my mouth."
Is Poppy Montgomery of CBS' "Without a Trace" related to Elizabeth Montgomery?
Terry Pohl, Keizer, Ore.
No, but growing up in Australia, she watched reruns of "Bewitched", starring Elizabeth (who died in 1995) as housewife-witch Samantha Stephens. Poppy, 31, whose sisters are Rosie, Daisy, Marigold and Lily, tells us she so wanted to be Tabitha, the half-witch daughter, that she used to try to twitch her nose. She's happy now to be a Samantha -- Samantha (Sam) Spade, that is, an FBI agent in "Trace". And she's been working on "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", a "quirky" indie movie.
Why hasn't Tisha Campbell-Martin, of Damon Wayans' "My Wife and Kids", been seen with her baby? Is it a security issue?
Jimmy Thompson, Goose Creek, S.C.
That, plus she worries about how the celeb spotlight may affect Xen, 22 months. "[He] comes to work with me every day, though," she tells us. "Damon made sure there was a nursery on the set." Now on hiatus, Campbell-Martin has lots planned with Xen. On Wednesdays, it's Mocha Moms; Fridays, "well, he just got kicked out of piano class. He's a bit too rambunctious." The actress, 34, says she'd like to have one more baby before she feels too old: "I always wanted three or four, but that's not going to happen."
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Albert Brooks has a strong cult following because of the six films he has written and directed. Yet he's reaching for mass-market stardom this summer, in "The In-Laws" and "Finding Nemo" (he's the voice of Nemo's father) -- movies he probably would've turned down in the past. "I did them because I'm married and I have a family, and my wife said, 'You gotta go do this,' " Brooks says. Yes, at 55, he is an unabashed family man. He has a son, Jacob, nearly 5, and a daughter, Claire, 3, with his wife of six years, Kimberly Shlain. And believe it or not, he has mellowed. "It's made a huge difference," he says. "I see it every day. If I'm on the phone talking about something involving my work and there's a problem, I can put the phone down and do one of two things: sit there and make more calls, stewing in the chair, or go in the kitchen and talk to my child about this complicated Lego tunnel. I'm finding that option is the best for him and me." Meanwhile, Brooks hasn't forsaken his pen: "I'm on the second draft of one of my own scripts. It's not ready, but I think I've got something that might develop nicely."
Rock music critics often praise the Rolling Stones and other English bands -- but not Aerosmith, a good ol' band from the USA. Why don't they get the credit they deserve?
George Pires, Lake Havasu, Ariz.
If it were up to fans and fellow musicians, Aerosmith would be carved into a mountain and the monument named Mount Rockmore. Their comeback from near-extinction after getting clean and sober in 1986 is unparalleled in rock, and their status as America's greatest rock band is evidenced by their influence on our pop culture. They're everywhere from the Got Milk? ads to New York fashion shows. Lead singer Steven Tyler, even did an episode of the Disney teen sitcom "Lizzie McGuire" and inducted AC/DC into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Check out their social commentary and tales from the road at aeroforceone.com. They're funny and smart. Could that be why critics don't like them?
When Caroline Rhea took over Rosie O'Donnell's talk show, she went on about her fiancé and their wedding plans. Now, there's no marriage talk. What happened?
Maryann Wanciak, Milford, Conn.
Rhea, 39, and Bob Kelty broke up this spring. No word on why, which is interesting, because when I talked to her last fall she gushed about him and her desire to have kids.
With Frappa Stout
Contributors: Leslie Baldacci, Bridget Byrne, Tameka L. Hicks, Nancy Mills
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BIRTHDAYS
June 22: Donald Faison, 29; Carson Daly, 30; Amy Brenneman, 39; Bruce Campbell, 45; Cyndi Lauper, 50; Meryl Streep, 54; Ed Bradley, 62
June 23: Clarence Thomas, 55
June 24: Sherry Stringfield, 36
June 25: George Michael, 40; Carly Simon, 58
June 26: Derek Jeter, 29; Sean Hayes, 33; Chris Isaak, 47
June 27: Tobey Maguire, 28; Vera Wang, 54
June 28: John Cusack, 37; John Elway, 43; Kathy Bates, 55
 Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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